Sacrifice
by 3DPhantom
Summary: What if... What if Stanley hadn't been the one to sacrifice himself? What if he hadn't lost his memory in order to defeat Bill? What if someone else had made the sacrifice...? (A series of one-shots that are alternate versions of/endings to Weirdmageddon. Originally requested by Barbacar: I accept requests for future chapters/one-shots. Rated T for violence and/or death.)
1. Chapter 1: Dipper

**Sacrifice**

 **A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating, and to those who aren't celebrating a holiday, it's entirely up to you how you want to make today stand out from any other day!**

 _The air crackles with energy. It's swelteringly hot, and yet, sharp chills cascade through the bodies of all who are present._

Dipper and Mabel run as hard and fast as they can manage, but with all of the other townspeople captured, there's only so much they can do.

Far too soon, _he_ catches up to them….

"What, did you think you could run forever?" Bill asks, his voice no longer its high and nasally tone, but instead a deep reverberating voice that matches his current form in strength and terror.

Bill snatches the twins up in one of his many large black hands; they struggle and wiggle, but it's of no use…. Bill's gargantuan, crimson, furious form morphs as soon as he's caught them. His three black tongues disappear, teeth vanishing and scarlet becoming overcome by a golden yellow until he looks just the same as they'd always known him to be, only…. Bigger.

Bill carries them back to his main chamber where Ford and Stan are still caged, ignoring all of their feeble attempts at escaping his grasp.

In his usual screeching, high-pitched voice Bill laughs. "Alright, Ford, time's up! I've got the kids, and I think I'm going to kill one of them, just for the fun of it!" Dipper and Mabel stare wide-eyed at Bill as he begins to mock them: "Eenie…." Mabel's completely frozen, but Dipper struggles harder. "Meenie…." Dipper's fingers clasp around a plastic cylinder. "Miniee…." Before Bill can finish, Dipper flips on the flashlight, enlarging Bill's hand.

"Oh, not this again!" Bill's eye goes red once more as Dipper and Mabel drop to the floor, Mabel using her grappling hook half-way down to yank her and her twin sideways out of the way of one of Bill's outstretching arms.

" _ENOUGH!"_ Bill screeches in frustration, and the edges of the room and exits are suddenly all blocked off with blue flames.

To Bill's surprise, Dipper only smirks before wielding the size-changing flashlight like a weapon.

A soft _"click"_ seems to fill the room as Dipper switches it on, this time a gentle pink instead of electric blue illuminating the room.

Bill glares and tries to enlarge himself as quickly as possible, but in a battle with the magic crystal's light he finds his form is loosing height fast. With another frustrated yell, Bill abandons the form, hovering into the air as the room turns black-and-white, dragging them all into the frozen world between the Mindscape and reality. The azure flames around them flicker for a moment before becoming still and grey.

"You think I need that physical form?" Bill asks rhetorically. "Not only can I make another form at will, but there's also still a puppet in our midst!" The Pines family barely has the time to look startled before Bill's dashing forward through the air, violently shoving Dipper's spirit out of his body and allowing himself to slip in. The room regains its red and blue hazes of color.

"….Dipper?" Mabel asks, reaching for her twin, but when he turns to look at her, all she can see staring back are two yellow feline-like eyes.

Bipper laughs and turns to stare up into the air next to him. "Remember Pine Tree, you agreed to be _my puppet._ Just because I left your body for a while doesn't mean I can't take it back!" Bipper laughs again, turning back to Mabel.

"What are you going to do now, Shooting Star? Hmm?" Mabel looks horrified for a moment before her face settles into one of determination.

"If…. If I have to, I'll just beat you up, whether or not you're in my brother's body!" Bill finds this notion to be hilarious.

"Even if you _killed_ this body, it wouldn't stop me kid!" He smashes the flashlight on the ground. "I could just go back to my other form!" He shoves Mabel in the chest, making her stumble to the ground. Stan and Ford scream curses at him.

Bipper turns to look at the two old men still trapped in their cage. He approaches.

"So Ford," Bill says, sauntering up closer. "What'll it be? Tell me how to burst the bubble that's trapping me here, or the first thing I'll do is destroy this body!" Bill reaches for Dipper's left pinky finger, pulling it backwards until a sharp _"snap"_ is heard. Tears spring into his sickly yellow eyes and Bipper laughs. "Oh yeah, still hilarious!" Ford and Stan cringe while Mabel sobs in the background.

"Give me what I want, Ford, or I'll make sure youloose _everything_ you love _._ What do ya say?"

Ford looks down, defeated. Tears leak from the corners of his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he says, and Bill laughs.

"Hurry up then, old man!" Ford sighs and looks up.

Before Bill can process what's happening, a blinding light engulfs him. Like a sack of potatoes, Dipper's body drops to the floor. And just like that, Bill Cipher and all of his memories have been erased.

Dipper smirks from his hovering, half-existing form nearby. "We got you, Bill." Dipper says, though he knows there's no one to hear him. "It's over."

Like magic, which technically it is, the floating pyramid in the sky begins to descend, bubbles of weirdness vanishing from around town. Within minutes, everything goes back to normal.

But it also doesn't.

The Pines family stands in a clearing outside of Gravity Falls. The wind whispers through the trees, and all is quiet and peaceful.

Mabel almost wants all of the weirdness back, the scorching trees and waterfall of blood. What right did the world have to look so beautiful and calm when her brother hadn't gotten up yet?

"Dipper?" She asks cautiously, looking down at the body below her, laying on the ground. It doesn't respond, so instead she looks up at the air next to her.

She can't see anything, but a hope still pounds in her chest. "Dipper?" She asks to the open air.

She distinctly feels her hair being brushed out of her face. To others it would have appeared to have been nothing more than a light breeze tussling her hair, but Mabel knows better. She smiles, knowing that her brother is with her.

Stan and Ford kneel down at her sides, observing the body on the ground. Ford reaches out two fingers and presses them to the neck.

"The body is alive," Ford says, "but it appears that Dipper can't return to it. That can only mean one thing."

"What?" Stan asks his twin brother.

"It means that Bill is still inside. No two hosts can occupy a body at the same time. Bill may have been in the Mindscape, and he may have forgotten everything, but I suppose he still has a soul, and it hasn't left Dipper's body."

As if to prove his point, Bipper begins to stir. Two yellow eyes slowly blink open, peering up at the four Pines.

"Who are you?" He asks. Mabel, Stan and Ford share a look.

"I'm Mabel."

"Stanford."

"Stanley."

Bipper turns to the last figure. "And you?" He asks.

"Dipper," is the response, though Bill is the only one who can hear it. "They can't see me." Dipper juts his thumb at the others, a sad expression on his face. Soon the sadness turns to anger. "And it's your fault, you know."

Bipper shakes his head. "I…. I actually don't know. Who am I?" Bipper goes to sit up, but instantly doubles over instead, wheezing and clutching his left hand to his chest.

"Ah, geez, pain is so _not_ hilarious! Definitely not fun!" The Pines wince.

"Bill?" Ford asks. The body in front of them peeks up through tear-blurred eyes.

"What, me?" He asks. Mabel nods.

"Yeah, your name is Bill Cipher," she says, a dark look overcoming her. "But that's not your body. That's my brother's body. It's _Dipper's_ body. You stole it!" She says angrily.

Bipper looks up at her in surprise, still seeing through tear-hazed eyes. "Well if it counts for anything, he can have it back! It's awful!" He strains to suppress a sob, though he doesn't know why he should care if he were to start bawling.

The ghost Dipper snaps his fingers, drawing Bill's attention. "Tell them I'll be right back!" Dipper says excitedly before flying away.

Bill looks back at the others. "The invisible kid-"

"Dipper!" Mabel interrupts, furious that he's forgotten the name of the boy he'd stolen his body from, especially since he only knows five names!

"Dipper," Bill corrects quickly, "said he'd be right back. By the way, can we _please_ do something about _this?!"_ He asks, holding out his hand a little and repressing another sob.

Stan rolls his eyes before grabbing the appendage. Bill squirms frantically. "Hold still," Stan tells him.

"Ow. Ow! Hey, that hurts damn it!" Bill complains, trying to pull back his hand.

"Well then you shouldn't have broken your finger you dumb-ass!" Stan says irritability, wrapping Bipper's hand multiple times in cloth he'd ripped from his shirt.

"I did _what_?" The Pines groan, unwilling to respond.

A rustling can suddenly be heard in the trees behind them. They turn around and watch, staring wide-eyed as a yellow pyramid emerges from the shrubbery.

"BILL?" Ford asks, leaving Bipper looking even more confused.

Mabel knows instantly who it is though. "Dipper!" She shouts, running over and hugging him. "Ow! You're sharp!" She complains mildly, letting go of the yellow pyramid.

"I know, it's horrible," Dipper whines a little. "Without being able to fly it's super hard to move in this body, and talking feels so weird…."

"Okay, _Dill,"_ Mabel laughs. _Dill_ looks less than pleased.

"Don't call me that," Dipper complains, but a smile can be heard in his voice, even if it can't be seen on his mouth-less face.

"So Dill," Mabel says, "any ideas on how to get Bill out of your body?"

"I don't know, an exorcism? Maybe we can knock him out like you did Mabel. Last time he just kind of got kicked out of my body when it passed out."

Stan grins. "I'm on it!"

"Wait, what are you," before Bill can finish, he's interrupted by a sharp pain in the back of his head. Stan had picked up a fallen stick from the ground and slammed it against the back of Bipper's head hard enough to knock him out for a few minutes.

"Grunkle Stan," Mabel lightly chastises, walking towards the now unconscious Bipper. She stopped and picked up Dill upon noticing the funny, slow way he kind of hobbled instead of walked.

They wait a few moments.

"Did you see him leave your body?" Ford asks Dipper.

"No…."

"Hmm." Ford reaches down, rolling Dipper's body so that it's face-up, and begins to lightly slap its cheeks. Bipper moans.

"So I guess that didn't work," Ford says. "Using the memory gun must have made Bill forget how to use his powers, and now he's trapped in your body."

"Isn't there some other way we can get him out?" Dipper asks. "And what are we going to do with him?"

An idea suddenly strikes Stanley. "WAIT! I know exactly what to do!" Stan reaches down and scoops Bipper into his arms. "Follow me back to the Mystery Shack!" The Pines family does as requested, Ford taking the weight of Dill from Mabel on the way. Dipper doesn't know if he should feel relieved that he doesn't have to hobble all the way to the Shack or dejected by the fact that he has to be _carried_.

When they reach the Shack Stan drops the now semi-conscious Bipper on his recliner before racing to his bedroom. Not even five minutes later he comes back down the stairs, carrying with him….

"Experiment Number 78!" Ford exclaims. "Stanley, you're a genius! Who knew?"

"Yup! You and Dipper aren't the only smart guys here!" Stan laughs, laying the blue shag rug out on the floor. "Everyone stand back."

Bipper is placed down on the carpet. He sits up, looking around for a moment, before grasping the back of his head. "Oww~"

"Don't worry," Dill assures him. "That won't hurt for long." With a crackling touch, blue electricity passes between them, swapping their minds and leaving them breathless.

"Owww~" Dipper says. "My finger, and my head, and just, _ow."_ Mabel laughs and hugs her brother, not planning on letting go for a million years.

Bill looks down at his no longer broken, but also very little and black, hand. "Oh yeah, this is much better! I love it!" He says, hovering a few inches off the ground.

"Bill?" Ford finds himself asking again. Bill looks up at him.

"You mean me, right?" He asks. Ford nods.

"You're levitating," Ford observes. Bill peers down.

"Yeah. Why? Is that not normal?" Bill asks. "'Cuz it feels normal."

"I guess it is normal. For you anyway," Mabel confirms.

"So what are we going to do with him?" Stan asks, motioning to the floating pyramid before them.

Ford doesn't hesitate before responding. "I say we kill him."

"No way!" Mabel objects. "Dipper, tell them they can't!"

Dipper sighs, clutching his hand carefully. "I agree that Bill's an evil, pompous jerk and that the world would be better off without him-"

"I'm a what now?" Bill interrupts, looking a bit terrified.

"-But," Dipper continues, "the Bill we have now isn't really _Bill_ anymore. The Bill we knew is gone, and, at least for now, we have to assume that he's never coming back so…. So killing him would be a lot like killing an innocent, right?"

Bill snaps his fingers. "Yeah, listen to Diaper!" He really doesn't understand what's going on, but he can sense that the boy wants him _alive_ while old ones might want him _not so alive._

Dipper groans. "I liked it better when you called be Pine Tree..."

"Pine Tree? Hmm, sounds about right. Pine Tree it is!" Dipper glares at him.

"Maybe I should let Grunkle Ford kill you." Bill falls silent, not fully trusting the instinct inside him that says Dipper isn't being completely serious.

"So what'll we do with him?" Stan asks. "We still haven't decided that."

Mabel laughs before asking: "Can I keep him?!"

Miraculously, they all concede to her request.

 **A/N: Yeah, I think this came out well enough, especially since it only took a few hours (less really; I was rather distracted the whole time). I could have done better, but whatever…. I hope you liked it Barbacar, and anyone else who is reading too, of course! Leave some positive feedback maybe, yeah? X3**

 **If people want it badly enough, I might write a bunch of alternate endings of Weirdmageddon Part 3, where various people are the ones to sacrifice themselves, and how it would all play out for each of them (sometimes as not-so-happy endings). For now though:**

 **The End** **(?)**


	2. Chapter 2: The Zodiac

**A/N: The second installment in my series of One-Shots about alternative sacrifices made around the whole Weirdmageddon Bill-Cipher craziness time at the end of the series. I hope you enjoy! Remember, reviews are love, reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, BYE!**

 **The Zodiac**

In Bill's Fearamid, the townsfolk gathered. Bill himself was still outside tussling with the Shacktron, his eye attempting to regenerate as quickly as possible.

"Grunkle Ford!" Dipper called, racing to his Great Uncle's side as he was released from his frozen golden state. Dipper would have thought of a petrified Han Solo if he'd had the time….

"Grunkle Ford, before you were captured, you said there was a secret way to defeat Bill." Mabel approached.

"Yeah, a weakness!" She said.

Ford nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, of course!" He began to look around. "I need something to-" He paused as he spotted Robbie's dropped can of spray paint. "Perfect!" He picked it up and began to spray a large circle onto the floor.

"What are you doing?" Asked Pacifica, stepping up to the circle. "Making the world's hardest game of hop-scotch?"

"No," Ford said, "though that would be a good game. _This_ is the key to defeating Bill Cipher! At least, according to the ancient cave paintings I found once it is. The paintings hadn't been wrong in their instructions on summoning him, so I'm going to have to trust that this will work!"

"It's Bill's summoning circle," Dipper observed. "How is that going help?"

"It's not just for summoning him, an ancient prophesy also foretold that it would be his downfall. I didn't understand it until now, but this Zodiac is a way for us to combine our strengths in a human circuit and defeat Bill. Look, Dipper, you're the pine tree."

Dipper stepped onto his section of the circle, looking up at his hat. "Woah."

"Mabel, the shooting star." Mabel giggled and stepped on.

"The symbol for the tent of telepathy!" Dipper said, pointing at a spot next to Mabel. "That must be you Gideon."

Soos looked down at his shirt and approached the question mark as Wendy shoved Robbie onto the stitched up heart. Pacifica hesitantly glanced down at the llama on her shirt, then to the exact depiction on the floor.

"This is just freaky," she said. "Mabel only gave me this sweater a few hours ago!" Ford nodded.

"And I," he said, stepping onto his section of the circle, "was born with six fingers, long before you were ever born," he said to her. "Based off what Bill said earlier while we were still in the Shacktron, these events were prophesized over a billion years ago! This is _destiny_ at work."

"Then who else goes on here?" Dipper asked. "We're missing two, the ice bag and glasses."

Ford pointed at Fiddleford. "They don't have to be literal. The glasses are someone scholarly," McGucket hooted and stepped into the circle, "and the ice bag is someone cool in the face of danger."

Wendy smirked and stepped up. "Yeah, whatever."

"Come on Stanley, you're the only one left," Ford said, looking back at his twin brother, pointing down at the symbol on the floor, the same symbol depicted on Stan's red fez.

Stanley mumbled skeptically, but stepped up just the same.

"Now everyone hold hands! It's a circuit, we have to allow the power to flow between us all! Everyone else get out, it's not safe!" The other townsfolk fled. Pacifica grimaced at McGucket's dirty palm, but begrudgingly took it. Gideon was nothing short of giddy as he held Mabel's hand, Mabel both grossed out and determined to deal with it until Bill had been defeated. Finally, only Stan remained.

"Come on Stanley, take my hand," Ford said, holding his hand out. Stan paused.

"I-You, you know, this is all your fault to begin with!" Stanley said.

"I know!" Ford said, "I know. It's my fault and I need your help to fix it. Please, Stan." Stan glared for a moment, but his gaze softened.

"Fine, but first, I spent _thirty years_ trying to bring you back! I think some gratitude is in order." He crossed his arms. Ford sighed heavily.

"Okay, fine, fine! _Thank you._ Now please, we haven't much time!" Stan uncrossed his arms and they locked hands, a blue haze lifting from all of them, illuminating the floor and walls around them.

"See, between me and him, I'm not _always_ the worse twin," Stanley Pines said. Ford rolled his eyes.

"It's 'him and me' Stanley," Ford said. There was a pause, which Dipper quickly jumped into, trying to prevent the argument everyone but Ford himself could quickly see approaching.

"Actually Grunkle Ford!" Dipper immediately cut in, "it's not technically grammatically incorrect! It's just less polite to put yourself first, and, and, in this situation I don't think it matters, and it's _Stan,_ so it actually fits him perfectly." Ford stared wide-eyed at Dipper for a moment.

Stan sent Ford a smug look and Ford rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay, whatever." Ford looked a bit dejected, but nobody unclasped their hands, the circle circuit complete. Clouds formed around the Fearamid, Bill Cipher glancing up at the sky. Something unusual was happening that he didn't cause? That couldn't be good for him….

The blue light around the circle intensified, and the white and color of everyone's eyes was drowned out, giving them all blue-disked stares. Blue electricity sparked and cackled through the air, zapping randomly around before, suddenly, like magnetism, Bill Cipher was being pulled backwards, away from the Shacktron, back towards his Fearamid.

"WHAT?!" He shouted, infuriated. He was yanked back into the pyramid, blue lightning zapping him and reducing him to his usual small size. He was dragged, literally kicking screaming and cursing, into the center of the circle. Once there, a blue-hazed, clear half-bubble formed around the inner circle like glass. Bill began pounding on it, trying to escape.

"Hey, what are you doing? You can't be doing this! LET ME OUT!" His voice rang out deep and threatening at the end. He grew furious and red, increasing in size until he could grow no larger, restricted by the bubble.

"Your time is up Cipher!" Ford said. Bill ignored him, returning to his usual form and glancing down at the symbols that made up the Zodiac. One at a time, they began to light up; one, then the one next to it, and then the next, all in a clockwise motion, each one having a light blue fill to the portion of the diagram before the color faded and sprang up at the one next to it. The rotating selection sped up.

"Listen here," Bill said. "I warned these kids, in sorts," he pointed to Dipper and Mabel, "when I first met them. You'll notice the floor going around in a circle, one at a time, each part glowing and dimming as it lights the person next to you." Bill pointed downward. Everyone looked, and sure enough, they saw the sections light in a clockwise rotation. "If you _really_ want to defeat me like this, one of you is going to have to play the part of sacrificial lamb! That wheel is going to stop on one of you and when it does, I'll be trapped in the Zodiac, I'll only have to wait until someone in the future summons me again, thus freeing me! But one of you, you'll die!" Bill said.

They all looked to one another, imagining themselves, or one of their loved ones, dying here in this circle. And though they were ashamed to admit it, they all also found themselves thinking about who they would be most okay with dying…. Though it still wouldn't be _wanted_. Just…. Some people would be…. _Less missed_ …. It was a horrible thought that scared them all.

"Are ALL of you willing to DIE to trap me? To see a loved one die?! And if even ONE of you isn't willing to go through with this, who are the rest of you to try and stop them from backing out?!" Nervous glances were sent around and across the circle, no one breaking the hold, but most people looking skeptical.

"We won't give in!" Ford said, more determined than most of the others. "You have to be stopped! For the sake of the ENTIRE WORLD! This is so much bigger than just us or our loved ones!" People around the circle took his words to heart, tightening their grips, determined yet frightened looks overcoming most of their features.

Bill howled in frustration. "Fine! Then to whoever lets go right now, I promise you anything in the entire Universe you could even think to want! I'll spare you, your family, your loved ones, I'll give you riches beyond your wildest dreams!" Images of gold, space, and people flashed across Bill's form. Everyone stared. "You can rule with me and my crew! UNLIMITED POWER! Just join me! LET ME OUT!" He pounded his small black fists once more on the edge of the bubble, trying to escape as the Zodiac's flashing sped up.

"Don't listen to him! He can't be trusted!" Dipper shouted. Everyone held their ground. They shut their eyes closed tightly, ignoring him as best as they could.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Bill screeched, twisting and turning every-which way in an attempt to be free. "DON'T DO THIS! I'LL BE BACK! YOUR SACRIFICE WILL ULTIMATLEY BE MEANINGLESS! You'll buy what? A decade, a century, a million years? It's nothing compared to my infinite life! I'LL BE BACK!"

The flashes came in such quick progression that it appeared as a solid blue ring to the human eye, lighting up the circle. The light was blinding and engulfing. It flashed…. And then faded away into nothingness.

Everyone coughed, dark smoke quickly dissipating as the rest of Gravity Falls began to return to normal. The Fearamid lost its magic and began to descend slowly from the sky. In the center of the Zodiac was a red, smoldering circle of embers.

"He's gone," Mabel said. Dipper sighed in relief.

"Mabel, you okay?" Dipper asked.

"Dipper? Yeah I'm fine!" She peered through the clearing smoke and found her brother.

Together they called out: "Grunkle Stan? Grunkle Ford?" Two responses of "here" could be heard as all of the Pines converged, sighing in obvious relief.

Wendy and Soos emerged from the smoke, approaching the family. "Man, I'm so glad you guys are okay!" Soos said, and Wendy nodded, setting Dipper's dropped hat on his head. He smiled and repositioned it fondly.

"Hot-biggity! I'm alive!" Was heard from somewhere nearby, clearly meaning Fiddleford McGucket was alive and well.

"Gideon?" Mabel called out, wondering if she would be happy or not if he'd been the sacrifice….

"Aww, my darling sweet little Mabel, were you worried about little ol' me?" Gideon asked, coming up behind her. "I see that brother of yours is still alive," he said, sounding both disappointed and relieved at the same time. Mabel groaned, but smiled.

"I…. Guess I'm glad you're okay," she said.

"Downright Gleeful?" Gideon asked with a wave of his eyebrows. Mabel rolled her eyes, but nodded a little.

"Robbie?" Wendy and Dipper called out together. He quickly emerged from the smoke he blended in with so well, a scowl on his face.

"Oh, yeah, sure, check and see if I'm alive _last_ ," he said, doing what could only be described as pouting, but after a playful punch from Wendy and smile from Dipper, he smiled back and shrugged.

"You're not the last one we checked for," Mabel said, going around the group of people. "Ford, Stan, me, Dipper, Soos, Wendy, McGucket, Robbie, Gideon…. That's only nine out of ten! Where's Pacifica?!" Everyone looked around, and as the last of the smoke cleared it revealed that, on the Zodiac where the llama used to be, there was only smoldering red embers.

Tears sprung into Dipper's and Mabel's eyes. She was sort-of an enemy…. At least, she _used_ to be, but ever since the golf tournament, Mabel hadn't minded her so much, and had actually tried to be her friend. And ever since the whole haunting incident at the Northwest mansion, she really _had_ considered her to be a friend, and so had Dipper.

Dipper and Mabel approached the smoldering section of the Zodiac, where Pacifica had been only a few short minutes ago. The others gave them some space, knowing that out of the nine gathered there, only the twins had really gotten to know Pacifica at all.

"Geez, what am I gonna tell her parents?" Stanley wondered aloud, taking off his hat in respect.

"She died saving us," Dipper responded quietly, he and Mabel kneeling by the embers with tears in their eyes. "It's _horrible,_ " Dipper continued, his voice cracking a bit, "but part of me is glad it was her and not me, or Mabel, or…." He stopped, unwilling to continue. Mabel nodded and began to sob, Dipper pulling her against him.

"I'm a horrible person!" Mabel said, "she died saving us and…. And all I can think is that I'm glad it wasn't someone I cared more about!" Mabel cried harder, Dipper rubbing circles into her back.

"It doesn't make you horrible," Dipper said, tears rolling silently down his face. "It just…. Makes you human." Mabel shook her head.

"Did we do the right thing?" She asked. "Was there really no other way to defeat Bill?" Dipper didn't know the answer to that, but for his twin sister, he would lie and bear the burden of it for the rest of his life, gladly. He tilted Mabel's head up until she was looking him in the eye.

"I'm the expert here," Dipper said, "so trust me: There was no other way." He didn't know if that was true or not, but…. But for now, it _had_ to be.

Mabel nodded, her tears slowing and sobs diminishing, but salty water would continue to leak slowly from her eyes for the next few days at random.

As the events of Weirdmageddon came to a close and _almost_ everything was returned to normal, the townsfolk all gathered in the center of town.

Stan and Ford approached the Northwests, Dipper and Mabel hanging back. They couldn't make out what was being said across the distance, but they didn't have to hear to know what the conversation was about. Pacifica's mother began to cry, burying her face in her husband's shoulder. Mr. Northwest tried to remain stoic, an angry and sad look overtaking him. He nodded slowly, numbly, whispered something in his wife's ear, and began to lead her away to their limo.

A small memorial was erected in town square, nothing but a little square slab of marble that had engraved on it "Pacifica Northwest: A girl who gave it all to save us all." With no body to recover, this was the closest thing to a grave she had, other than a simple tombstone in the local cemetery with only her name on it.

….Every summer that they visited Gravity Falls, on the day before their birthday, the Pines twins would stop by and lay flowers on the stone….


End file.
